5 Tips to Stop Your Cat From Scratching Your Furniture

Cats are, for the most part, easy animals to take care of. They are incredibly self-sufficient and enjoy spending the majority of their time sleeping. While this can make being a cat parent enjoyable, there are times where you might get frustrated with their behavior. This is especially true when you find claw marks in your furniture, which seem to get worse over time. If you’re tired of the scratching battle, a few of WebMD’s best tips to help can be found below.

1. Introduce Scratching Posts

Cats love scratching posts, so it’s ideal to have these placed all around your house. When there are plenty of options for them to scratch, they will be less likely to harm your furniture. To make the most of these, grab different shapes and sizes. For example, a tall scratching post can go on the side of your couch while a flat scratching pad can go next to your ottoman.

2. Cover the Most Popular Scratching Areas

The corners of chairs and couches are the most likely to be torn up by cats. Fortunately, there are plastic furniture covers you can use to protect these areas. Double-sided sticky tape is another great way to cover highly scratched spots on your furniture or floors. Cats don’t like the sticky feeling, so after a few attempts to scratch, they should stop this behavior.

3. Apply Soft Claw Covers

Soft claw covers that are made specifically for cats are excellent for helping to stop scratching behavior. These are easy to apply and last anywhere from four to six weeks before they need to be re-applied. A variety of different colors and sizes are available to accommodate all sizes of cats.

4. Catch Them in the Act

When you hear that dreaded noise of your furniture being torn to shreds, go to your cat with a spray water bottle, air bottle, or loud horn. After a few times of experiencing these consequences, most cats will back off from doing the negative behavior. However, it is recommended to use this solution last, as it may cause your cat to fear you.

Protecting Your Furniture From Claws

Cats love to scratch virtually anything they’re able to, so it’s important to understand that this is a natural behavior. However, that doesn’t mean you have to let it ruin your furniture. By using the solutions above, you will be able to prevent damage while still keeping your cat happy.

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